COITUS UNRESERVATUS

Mark Kramer Trio

This is relatively new music, built on semi-structured free jazz, created to explore "jazz" just a little beyond even the familiar extremes.

TECHNICAL
The music is created using poly-rhythms, poly-meters, polytonalities, superimposed harmonies, contrapuntalism, micro-themes, poly-tempos. When melodically/harmonically aware in a traditional sense, melodies and harmonies are generally unanticipated.

These selections neither follow a general sonata-allegro form nor follow formulaic notions of development as found in standard jazz solos, or in classical music's theme development. Those often only slowly build towards a climax. Peaks herein are interspersed and occur surprisingly often. A minority of POSITIONS intentionally employ only one major theme in which intensity is mostly maintained.

NON-TECHNICAL
The title of this collection indicates that most of this music provides controlled "release" as often it can. This occurs without reservation, i.e., as a surprising series of rapid-fire kaleidoscopic peaks in each selection. (UNRESERVATUS: is a play on RESERVATUS, a term sometimes used in tantric sex, where release is withheld in pursuit of sustained orgasm. The UNRESERVATUS thesis is that players and listeners have been increasingly greatly impeded by contrived constraints; that our capacities to fully emit, receive, and metabolize per time period are more than we might imagine presently. There are however several Positions (e.g., #4) which serve as interludes in which change of the above type is incidental to intended minimalism

As discussed below “jazz” itself has been increasingly stripped of its sexual nature, and made into something now which is far afield of its original simple meaning. This work attempts to recapture that meaning but in a new envelope.

WHY ISN'T EACH PIECE GIVEN A NORMAL NAME?
Each selection is termed a POSITION - sequentially numbered - much like one might encounter in a manual devoted to depicting positions of sexual unions. For each numbered selection, the trio conforms to a semi-distinct POSITION defined by the underlying musical intercourse/ discourse. The experience feels natural, at least once any parochial biases are lifted.

If all of this analogy of music to sex sounds a bit weird, just recall that at the beginning “jazz/jass” had been a verb: "to jazz" meant to fornicate, or, "jazzing" meant "screwing. " Crude? No! Truly wonderful. Yes!

WHY IS REPEAT LISTENING RECOMMENDED?
These are not pieces to experience passively. Thus, repeat listening to each POSITION (e.g., via looping) is recommended to extract all that there is. Yet, some listeners will understand immediately. You know you've "got it" when each POSITION becomes more than its parts, i.e., becomes a complete POSTURE in which organisms (minds, feelings, instincts, sensations included) are free to interact or act way beyond passive reception. We are now working on scores to accompany each POSITION (estimated to total at least 100. ) Happy C.U.-ing.